BBC - Comedy - The Good Life The Good Life The Good Life Created by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, The Good Life's four series from 1975-8 are remembered, according to the Britain's Greatest Sitcom poll, as our 9th favourite laugh. Constantly available on UKTV, it's a must visit for anyone interested in British sitcom. On his 40th birthday to be precise, Tom Good decides that he's had enough of the rat race and that he and wife Barbara will become self-sufficient. The pair convert their garden into a farm, get in the pigs and chickens, grow their own crops and on one memorable occasion, try to dye their own wool with nettles. Tom and Barbara would just be lone loons were it not for their neighbours, the henpecked Jerry Leadbetter and wife Margot, a social climber who cannot bear chickens wandering the back garden. The Good Life attacked the middle class and the 'alternative' lifestyle at once, showing Margot's snobbishness as blindness, and Tom's fanatical self-sufficiency as going too far.

Examples of Tom's pursuit of natural alternatives leading down the wrong path include his attempts to make a methane-powered car that continually breaks down, as well as the problems Barbara and Tom have trying to kill their chicken, forcing them through pride to make a 'sumptuous feast' of a single egg. The Good Life was remarkable for the consistent characterisation. Though initially dominated by Tom, Barbara was soon balancing his mad schemes with pragmatism and comforting his occasional lapses into depression. Jerry's mocking derision of Tom's step sideways become grudging respect, and even snobbish Margot was human and real. The series showcased the talents of Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington and made all three of the latter into solo stars afterwards, with Kendal becoming a sex-symbol (still is, let’s face it), while Keith in To The Manor Born and Eddington in Yes Minister created roles that were to become even better known than their Good Life creations. Briers went on to create possibly the saddest small-screen comic character of all time, Martin Brice in Ever Decreasing Circles. The thirty episodes of The Good Life became household favourites, and are still enduring icons of their time.

In a good-natured, light-hearted way, they showed how hard it was, and is, to be different to those around you, and the kind of courage it takes to be so. Good Neighbors (TV Series 1975–1978) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error The Good Life (original title) 28min The perils of "escaping the rat race" and dropping out of society - to start a farm in Surbiton (and to drive Margo nuts). Stars: Tom becomes concerned when he hears she is planning to build a wind break. He can see a major problem with the further growth of his fruit crop. 8.7 Tom and Barbara have put the episode when they were vandalised behind them and are making their own decorations on Christmas eve. Next door Margo has argued with the company delivering all her ...

8.6 With their goat not yielding any milk and much of the garden still soaked in oil Tom is in no mood to celebrate his birthday and the second anniversary of quitting his job. To get funds he and ... 8.3 a list of 45 titles created 21 Apr 2011 a list of 36 titles created 29 Dec 2011 a list of 23 titles created 31 Jul 2014 a list of 46 titles created 05 Apr 2015 a list of 45 titles created 05 Jul 2015 Search for " Good Neighbors " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Title: Good Neighbors (1975–1978) 8.1/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. 1 win & 5 nominations. See more awards » Photos Audrey fforbes-Hamilton is sad when her husband dies but is shocked when she realises that she has to leave Grantleigh Manor where her family has lived forever. The new owner is Richard De ...

See full summary » Stars: Penelope Keith, Peter Bowles, Angela Thorne Ria, a happily married suburban housewife, reaches the age where she feels as if life is passing her by. Being taken for granted by her butterfly collecting dentist husband doesn't help. So... See full summary » Stars: Wendy Craig, Geoffrey Palmer, Bruce Montague Martin is a committee man. He has numerous schemes and committees organised around the neighbourhood. He is so obsessive about every detail of everything he does he is driving his long ... See full summary » Stars: Richard Briers, Penelope Wilton, Peter Egan A rather naive, middle-class man is admitted to a hospital ward and finds that he is sharing it with a working-class layabout and an upper-class hypochondriac. All three of them cause headaches for the hospital staff. Stars: James Bolam, Peter Bowles, Christopher Strauli The series followed the wavering relationship between two ex-lovers, Penny Warrender, a secretary for an advertising firm, and Vincent Pinner, an ex ice cream salesman turned turf ...

See full summary » Stars: Paul Nicholas, Jan Francis, Sylvia Kay Wolfie Smith is an unemployed dreamer from Tooting London, a self proclaimed Urban Guerilla who aspires to be like his hero Che Guevara. Leading a small group called the Tooting Popular ... See full summary » Stars: Robert Lindsay, Mike Grady, Hilda Braid Comic goings on in this series set in an English holiday camp called Maplins. The title comes from the camp's greeting, which the staff are meant to say with enthusiasm but all too often ... See full summary » Stars: Paul Shane, Ruth Madoc, Jeffrey Holland BBC Television comedy detailing the fortunes of Reginald Iolanthe Perrin. Disillusioned after a long career at Sunshine Desserts, Perrin goes through a mid-life crisis and fakes his own ... See full summary » Stars: Leonard Rossiter, Pauline Yates, John Barron The misadventures of the staff of a retail floor of a major department store. Stars: Mollie Sugden, John Inman, Frank Thornton A working-class Cockney bigot with a biased and expirienced opinion of everything shares them bluntly and almost carelessly.

Stars: Warren Mitchell, Anthony Booth, Una Stubbs The Korean War and a long lost letter separate the lives of young lovers Jean and Lionel, whose paths cross again by happenstance. Stars: Judi Dench, Geoffrey Palmer, Moira Brooker Jacko is a house painter who "appreciates" women, he sees the best in each one of them and they in turn, like him. Will he find true love ? Will he settle down as he gets older ? Stars: Karl Howman, Mike Walling, Jackie Lye Edit Storyline Tom and Barbara Good's dream is to live completely self-sufficiently. This means, among other things, raising their own vegetables and animals for food. Trouble is, they live in the suburbs. Their very conservative neighbors, the Leadbetters, look on, horrified, at this bold experiment. Written by George S. Davis <mgeorges@prodigy.net> 4 April 1975 (UK) See more » Also Known As: Did You Know? Trivia Tom whistles a refrain in many an episode; this is the 'bluebird' whistle from Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

See more » Quotes See more » Crazy Credits The closing credits listed the actors' names but not the corresponding names of the characters that they played. See more » Connections – See all my reviews In the seventies, television was good, and The Good Life (1975-1978) is no exception. It's a dry, pleasant and warm British situation comedy about an everyday man who decides on his 40th birthday to quit his job and become self-sufficient. The reason this comedy works better than most is down to its brilliant casting, all of the actors have such a believable chemistry. From Tom and Barbara Good (the fantastic Richard Briers and the lovely Felicity Kendall) to Jerry and Margot Ledbetter (the equally great coupling of Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith). The characters are so likeable, you can't help but warn to this show, it's funny, inoffensive and most of all happy, the kind of show that will lift you're spirits and put a smile on you're face. (Incidentally for a show that is so happy, the final episode is actually quite depressing and emotional a bit of a downer. But that aside you can still watch all the other episodes).

This is great comedy with great actors that adds up to a true television classic... 20 of 21 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Good Life, The (Good Neighbors) Good Life, The (Good Neighbors) 1 9 7 5 - 1 9 7 8 (UK) 30 x 30 minute episodes A nice, cosy, middle-class sitcom made in a time when nice, cosy, middle-class sitcoms were funny. The premise was simple. Tom and Barbara Good, a nice middle-class couple from Surbiton, decide to give up the rat race and practice self-sufficiency (next door to their best friends the Ledbetters, Jerry and Margo). Tom and Jerry had worked together at JJM Limited, a company that designs and makes novelty plastics (mainly the toys that go in breakfast cereal). While they had started out together as draughtsmen, Jerry had worked himself into an executive management position while Tom was still languishing in the design room with employees half his age. So on his 40th birthday he throws it all away and goes native with his lovely wife, Barbara (Felicity Kendall).

Much of the comedy centred on the relationship between Tom/Barbara and Margo/Jerry - Margo is a social-climber, involved with the Pony Club and amateur theatricals, longing to get- noticed by the "Right People", while Barbara enjoys home life, gardening and the occasional night out with Tom. Penelope Keith with her oxyacetylene voice encapsulated British middle-class snobbery as Margo Leadbetter, and there were hints at 70s style suburban wife-swapping with Jerry and Barbara in the kitchen and Margo and Tom in the other room. Surbiton swings like a pendulum do . . . The Goods' comic problems with self-sufficiency inspired thousands to try to grow their own. Lawns everywhere were dug up, vegetables pushed out flowers, and goat-keeping was on the up. By 1980,the pursuit of the good life had resulted in a record number of 51,000 smallholdings in Britain.

When the Queen was asked in 1978 to help raise money for British athletes competing in the following year's Commonwealth Games by picking a television programme she'd like to see being made with a specially invited audience, it surprised no one that she chose The Good Life. The Good Life remained one of the BBC's most popular shows for years. Two follow-up specials were recorded, and the series was re-run many times. It enjoyed a healthy export life as well, particularly in Australia and in the US where it was broadcast on PBS under the title Good Neighbors due to the fact that there had been a (flop) home-grown comedy series called The Good Life on US network television back in 1971 with Larry Hagman and Donna Mills. Tom Good Fashion lessons from The Good Life, from dungarees to decadence | Fashion | The Guardian Fashion Fashion lessons from The Good Life, from dungarees to decadence The Good Life turns 40 this month, but its style is as fresh as ever. Here is what Tom, Barbara, Margo and Jerry can teach us about dressing for spring 2015 The cast of the TV series The Good Life.

Photograph: Unknown/BBC Share on Messenger Close By the time you reach 40, you should be able to dispense at least a little fashion wisdom. Classic TV show The Good Life is no exception – this month the sitcom turns 40, and a close inspection of the wardrobes of Tom, Barbara, Margo and Jerry reveals that 1975 Surbiton holds the secrets of spring 2015 fashion. The Good Life fashion lesson one: grownups look cool in dungarees Pinterest Barbara in dungarees on set. Photograph: BBC Or overalls, which is how Barbara described them, if memory serves. Barbara wore hers in a self-consciously I’ve-been-tending-the-vegetable-patch way, which isn’t quite the vibe of how to wear them now, but the plaid shirt and the American Apparel-style frames would cut it this spring. Stella McCartney, Alexa Chung for AG and Current/Elliott are all pushing Barbara Good-friendly denim dungarees at Margo Leadbetter prices. The Good Life fashion lesson two: the faux home knit looks haute Pinterest Tom and Barbara in chunky knits.

Photograph: BBC How Acne do Tom and Barbara’s home knits look? Now that politicians have embraced the slim knit over a shirt as their campaign-friendly casual look, fashion has had to beef up its knitwear act. Tom’s browny-grey knit and Barbara’s tobacco cable knit also seem to pre-empt the colour palette of Celine’s 2015 rib knits. The goat wouldn’t look out of place in the pages of the CR Book, either. The Good Life fashion lesson three: white polo necks are subtle power dressing The Good Life (Series) - TV Tropes The Good Life You need to login to do this. Get Known if you don't have an account Share WMG This is the life... Brit Com about a married couple (Tom and Barbara Good) who decide to give up the rat race and become completely self-sufficient. On his 40th birthday, Tom Good gives up his job as a draughtsman in a company that makes plastic toys for boxes of breakfast cereal. Their house is paid for, so he and his wife decide to live a sustainable, simple and self-sufficient lifestyle while staying in their home in Surbiton.

They dig up their gardens and convert them into allotments, growing fruit and vegetables. They buy chickens, pigs, a goat and a rooster. The Goods generate their own electricity, attempt to make their own clothes, and barter for essentials which they cannot make themselves. Their actions horrify their conventional, and conventionally materialistic, next-door neighbors, Margo and Jerry Leadbetter. Well, they horrify Margo. Tom's friend and former colleague Jerry is mostly just bemused. Hilarity Ensues . Notable for being a sitcom about Sustainability before sustainability was a common topic of discussion. Came ninth in Britain's Best Sitcom . Known as Good Neighbors in the US because NBC had an unrelated one season series called "The Good Life" a couple years before. This program provides examples of: Acting Unnatural : In one episode, Tom and Barbara think Margo is having an affair. When Jerry walks in, Tom tells Barbara to 'be natural'. They then both stand to attention and grin like idiots.

The Alleged Car : In series 3 episode "A Tug At The Forelock" Tom decides to build his own, powered by the engine from the rotary cultivator, as an alternative to the (less economical but more sensible) horse Barbara got from the coal-man, who was upgrading to motor power. Despite Jerry's quizzing them on the lack of tax and insurance, its general roadworthiness is not brought up in that episode. Almost Famous Name : One episode revolves around Tom and Barbara being interviewed by a newspaper that turns out, after they've told everyone they know, to be a low-circulation student paper with a similar name to the famous national paper they thought they would be appearing in. Annoying Laugh : Jerry. A heh. Heheheheh. Arrow Cam : At least one episode includes an example of 'Goat Cam': "Geraldine! Kill!" Billed Above the Title : "Richard Briers in The Good Life". Briers had been playing sitcom leads for over a decade when he was offered the role of Tom, while Felicity Kendal, Penelope Keith and Paul Eddington were primarily known for their stage work.

note At the time of casting, all four cast members had just appeared in West End runs of new plays by Alan Ayckbourn - Briers and Eddington in Absurd Person Singular (not at the same time), Kendal and Keith in The Norman Conquests. "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word : Margo says almost exactly this line (minus "such") to her choir mistress in the series 1 episode "The Pagan Rite" regarding the fact that she, not the choir mistress, is the one baking gingerbread cookies for the meetings. Butt Monkey : Margo - Deconstructed in one episode, where she tipsily pours her heart out about being fully aware of this trope ever since she was in school: Margo: I never understood jokes ... so I became the butt of them. Christmas Episode : "Silly, But It's Fun" Continuity Nod : A few. The show has pretty good continuity, in particular in limiting Tom and Barbara's wardrobe. In "The Day Peace Broke Out", Barbara mentions Tom missing a chicken when trying to shoot it, which occurred in "Say Little Hen...".

Contrived Coincidence : Margo and Jerry go on holiday, Tom does his back out and a freak storm hits Surbiton the week the Goods need to get their first harvest in at the end of series one. Coupled Couples : Tom and Barbara, and Jerry and Margo. Deadpan Snarker : The whole cast, but Jerry in particular. Earth Mother : Barbara Good, who is frequently an Unkempt Beauty . Emotions Versus Stoicism : A couple of episodes revolve around this. Emotion usually wins. "Home Sweet Home": Tom decides they should move to a farm and Barbara tries to support him because there are very sensible arguments for it, even though she's very attached to the house. Tom soon realizes that he doesn't want to leave either, but he tries to let Barbara take all the blame when she confesses. (When Jerry lets slip that Tom was pining as well, she throws an egg at him.) "The Happy Event": When their sow gives birth to a runt, Tom is all for letting it die because that's what you do with runts.

Barbara is not happy with how "[his] efficiency has become [his] god" and the Leadbetters are disgusted with the callousness. Ends up with an emergency run to the hospital for some oxygen, with the help of a constable. The Engineer : Tom, an excellent draftsman, is very good at building (and occasionally inventing) machinery and gadgets for the house and garden, from an effluence digester to an oxygen tent for a piglet. Epic Fail : Tom tries to shoot a chicken with an air pistol. He misses from six inches away. On the other hand he does scare it into (finally) laying an egg! Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" : Jerry's (and formerly Tom's) boss Andrew is often referred to as "Sir", even in the third person. Everything's Messier with Pigs : Particularly when they dig their way into Margo's garden. Gargle Blaster : Tom's home-made "peapod burgundy"; one episode features the foursome getting plastered on it. Tom: It's hurting the back of my eyes!

George Jetson Job Security : In the Series 2 episode "Mutiny" Jerry is fired by "Sir" for telling him his Dutch colleague cannot stay at his house because Margo is performing in The Sound of Music that evening. When Tom confronts "Sir" over Jerry's firing, "Sir" explains that the firing was temporary, and was intended to shake Jerry out of thinking that he is irreplaceable. The Ghost : A number of Margo's acquaintances, including Miss Mountshaft of the music society, are talked about regularly but are never seen. Happily Married : Both couples fight — Jerry and Margo constantly — but have very strong relationships. Henpecked Husband : Jerry, although he doesn't hesitate to put his foot down when needs be. Homemade Sweater from Hell : Traditional version in the Christmas Special but the Goods have a habit of wearing their own home-made clothes as well. Ho Yay : In-universe example. Tom and Jerry make a few jokey comments about being married to each other. Hypocritical Humor : A staple. Often it will be Barbara or Tom dismissing the other's anger / frustration, a few pertinent lines of dialogue, and then becoming just as outraged.

That, or one of them expressing an opinion and the other dismissing it until the other acts like they're the one who came up with it . Innocent Innuendo : Barbara's first attempts to barter to pay the window-cleaner's bill turn into this, partly because of the recent success of Confessions of a Window Cleaner and similar films. In this case, the milkman is so abashed by his mistake he leaves without taking payment... and then Barbara realises what he must have thought she was suggesting. "Tom, you will take down my dress or I will call the police—and I'm aware that didn't come out right." It's All About Me : Tom strays into this occasionally, doing things without regard to Barbara's or his neighbours' feelings and causing the problem of the episode. Richard Briers has said he didn't find Tom very likable because of this. Jerk with a Heart of Gold : Margo. She may be stuck-up, but she isn't afraid to apologise when she's wrong, and she does genuinely care about her friend Barbara even if she is condescending.

Kick the Dog : In the Series 4 finale, "Anniversary", the Goods' home is burgled and instead of leaving when they couldn't find anything worth stealing they proceed to completely vandalise the interior of the house - even going as far as to rip up Tom's birthday card. The look on Barbara's face should tell you all you need to know about how pointless it was. Law of Inverse Fertility : Averted; both couples have active sex lives, and neither has or desires children. In one episode Jerry comments sardonically that he and Margo use so much protection they barely touch. Limited Wardrobe : Justified Trope . Tom and Barbara sold the majority of their clothes because they needed the money. Man Child : Tom, who often has a twelve-year-old boy's sense of enthusiasm (and humor, to Margo's chagrin). Market-Based Title : As noted, it has a different name in the US. Mistaken for Cheating : Tom and Barbara think Margo is having an affair in one episode. She's actually visiting a weight loss clinic.

Mï¿½bius Neighbourhood : Other members of the neighbourhood are occasionally mentioned, but we never seem to meet the next-door neighbours on the other side of the Goods' house—in one episode the house is explicitly up for sale, then an artist named Mrs. Weaver moves in, and later moves out. Nothing is said of people who live across the street or a few doors down. Mood Whiplash : The episode where the Goods find out they've been burgled. Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! : Tom wheedles Margo into buying an expensive spinning wheel so that he can borrow it for homemade cloth; he assumes that Margo simply order "chequebook, Jerry" as she always does with no problem. Back at home, Barbara is convincing Jerry that he needs to stand up to Margo when she starts overspending. (Of course, Tom and Margo are being selfish and Jerry should stand up for himself once in a while, but Barbra didn't mean to scuttle Tom's plan.) Noodle Incident : The amateur production of The Sound of Music . Margo prepares for it for a few episodes and eventually we see her getting ready to perform.

The episode cuts directly to Tom, Barbara and Jerry discussing what transpired. It begins with Tom asking, "That was The Sound of Music we saw wasn't it?" and goes downhill from there. Tom: Why did Margo sing "Maria"? Jerry: That's the name of her character. Tom: I know, but I thought that song came from West Side Story . Barbara: It did. When asked about it later Margo confesses that at that point she might have done anything... and begins to laugh finally seeing the funny side of the disaster. Video Inside, Film Outside Vitriolic Best Buds : The Leadbetters' relationship with the Goods pretty much amounts to this, especially Margo. They constantly criticise Tom and Barbara for their choice of lifestyle, but when it comes down to it they're in fact also their staunchest defenders. What the Hell, Hero? : Barbara and Jerry each give one to Tom for his complete dismissal of Barbara's feelings in "The Last Posh Frock".

After Tom gave her a big spiel about how he didn't care if she was unglamorous and then fawned all over her very glamorous school friend, she tears into him for dismissing her feelings as silly and "acting like a woman". When Tom goes to Jerry for some "women eh" sympathy he gets a sharp lecture instead and is chased home by Jerry's signature laugh. Wrench Wench : Barbara, who was at least as mechanically capable as Tom. Yes-Man : Jerry is a cheerfully unapologetic example; in one episode as he's about to call up his boss on the phone and grovel, he whips out a comb and works over his hair. When Tom tries to appeal to his dignity, Jerry shrugs it off. He doesn't mind "crawling" because it gets him the comfortable lifestyle he enjoys. :: Indexes :: "Good Neighbors" Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb trailers and videos full cast and crew trivia official sites memorable quotes Overview 20 out of 20 people found the following review useful: Well Thank You Very Much, Jerry!

from London, UK 7 January 2002 Neither as acerbic as FAWLTY TOWERS or ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS or as radical as THE YOUNG ONES, THE GOOD LIFE remains cosily stuck in a middle-class time-warp but happens to be blessed with terrific scripts (by Bob Larbey and John Esmonde) and extremely strong characters, played to perfection by the four principle actors. Originally airing 1975-1978, the series managed to maintain a very high standard despite a slight air of exhaustion that crept into the fourth final series. It was decided to quit while they were ahead, at the peak of the series popularity, with a final episode filmed in front of the Queen. The basic set-up concerns Tom and Barbara Good (Richard Briers and Felicity Kendal) who decide to opt-out of the rat race and try self-sufficiency in Surbiton.

On this slender premise hung all kinds of imaginative plots farmyard animals (and their excretory processes), generators, rotary cultivators (and contraptions of all kinds) as well as political machinations in the local music society headed up by the formidable Miss Mountshaft (often referred to, but never seen). As the series progressed, the plots tended to depend upon situations guaranteed to cause maximum embarrassment to the Goods social-climbing fully paid-up member of the white middle-classes neighbour Margo Leadbetter (played marvellously by Penelope Keith). Margo's husband, Jerry (Paul Eddington) maintains just the right amount of total resigned bemusement throughout.

Stand-out episodes include 'The Windbreak War' (a feud erupts over the positioning of Margo's windbreak), 'A Tug Of The Forelock' (Tom and Barbara go into domestic service...for Margo), 'Silly...But It's Fun' (the Christmas 1977 episode in which Harrods fail to deliver Margo's Christmas), 'Mutiny' (in which Margo plays Maria in the local music society's production of The Sound Of Music) and 'The Thing In The Cellar' (Tom installs a methane generator which runs on something that comes out of pigs). It's easy to forget the critical approval and the public appreciation the series gained during it's initial tenure, along with the fame that greeted the actors (especially Penelope Keith who memorably appeared on the Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show, the ultimate accolade at the time). THE GOOD LIFE easily ranks up with the best TV comedies ever produced but, unfortunately, it is not remembered with quite the same fondness as DAD'S ARMY, STEPTOE & SON or the magnificent FAWLTY TOWERS. What is needed is some repeats to correct this shameful oversight. Was the above review useful to you?

20 out of 21 people found the following review useful: Those where the days! Author: jonathandoe_se7en 18 August 2001 In the seventies, television was good, and The Good Life (1975-1978) is no exception. It's a dry, pleasant and warm British situation comedy about an everyday man who decides on his 40th birthday to quit his job and become self-sufficient. The reason this comedy works better than most is down to its brilliant casting, all of the actors have such a believable chemistry. From Tom and Barbara Good (the fantastic Richard Briers and the lovely Felicity Kendall) to Jerry and Margot Ledbetter (the equally great coupling of Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith). The characters are so likeable, you can't help but warn to this show, it's funny, inoffensive and most of all happy, the kind of show that will lift you're spirits and put a smile on you're face. (Incidentally for a show that is so happy, the final episode is actually quite depressing and emotional a bit of a downer. But that aside you can still watch all the other episodes).

This is great comedy with great actors that adds up to a true television classic... Was the above review useful to you? 18 out of 18 people found the following review useful: Stands the test of time from Baton Rouge, LA 8 March 2005 I remember watching this show on PBS in the early 80's and loving it. However, I hadn't seen it in nearly 20 years, and wasn't sure how much of my "wonderful" memory was simply nostalgia. So I was thrilled to discover that my local library has a few episodes on VHS, but it was with a bit of trepidation that I checked them out. Would the show be as good (unintentional pun) as I remembered? I can happily say that yes, this show stands the test of time. True, most of Jerry and Margo's wardrobe is horribly dated, and the typical American wouldn't get a few of the jokes. However, by and large this charming sitcom is still big on laughs, in a very family-friendly way (except for some light innuendo, and the occasional drink, there's virtually nothing to offend here).

Oh, and even wearing a raincoat and wellies, Felicity Kendal is still one of the loveliest ladies I've ever seen. Was the above review useful to you? 17 out of 18 people found the following review useful: Intelligent British comedy with a heart! from Scranton, Pennsylvania 1 April 1999 This is one of those series that give Britcoms such a good name! "Good Neighbors" (as we know it here in the states) is intelligent, funny, and extremely endearing. And who can beat the cast? Richard Briers is a very respected veteran now -- he was nominated for a Tony last year for "The Chairs" -- and he was just as talented when he was younger! Felicity Kendall is absolutely precious as his wife (I *love* her scratchy little voice!), and Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith are terrific as the snooty next-door neighbors. "Good Neighbors"/"The Good Life" is dry, but in a good way... You'll laugh out loud at this one! And it has a heart -- you'll fall in love with the Goods, and enjoy following them through their ups and downs!

Do yourself a favor and check out this series! Was the above review useful to you? 18 out of 21 people found the following review useful: The Good Life, Good Show! from Birmingham, England 23 August 2002 The Good Life has been repeated many many times on the BBC ever since it first aired back in the mid to late 70s and for good reason too. Back then Britain was going through years and years of industrial strikes culminating in 78/79 with the so-called "Winter Of Discontent" when National Strikes crippled the country. During the 70s there were many situations when most of the country had its power cut off for nights on end by striking energy workers. Thus millions of families would be cast in darkness huddled round candles, talking or trying to read under the gloom. It also gave thought to our total independence on eletricity and the power it provides us at the simple flick of a switch. And so The Good Life came to light (bad pun I know). However, the writers decided not to make a comedy about people suffering darkness at the hands of militants and strikers.

Instead they decided on taking a typical middle-class couple into the realms of voluntary self-sufficiency. So enter, Tom & Barbara, our selfless & willing guinea pigs who decide the rat race and huge bills is not a world for them. And for the next 4 years we seem them struggle & succeed in their attempts at going their own self-sufficiency way at the bemusements of their neighbours. This kind of environmentalism was a relatively new concept to British audiences in the 70s and perhaps underlined why the show was such a great & enduring success. But it also raised lots of questions both for us the viewing audience and Tom & Barbara themselves. Generating electricity is no easy thing as Tom found out when the Electricity Board finally cut their power for not paying their bills. Both Tom & Barbara had to adapt really quickly and get used to the idea that nothing was going to happen any more by simply clicking on a light switch, opening a fridge or turning on a tv. All these creature comforts we take so much for granted are all gone for Tom & his wife.

And trying to build his own little power generator in his celler using the effluent of his pigs to create some form of electricity not only makes for a great episode but also shows us how much hard work & self sacrifice is involved by going the Green Route. Two major questions that surfaced during the show involved the keeping of animals in Tom's back garden and the hard work, noise, odours etc that this creates and the problems it causes to the neighbours; the difficult matter of having to kill their own chickens bare handed rather than simply going to the shops and buying frozen foods killed by other people. Interestingly the Goods (Tom & Barbara) were childless which was probably intended by the writers otherwise the show could have suffered if children were involved. As time went on some of the episodes looked very "samey" from earlier episodes and the laughs were becoming just a little desperate. So to learn that the series would finally end in 1978 was the right choice. Its always best to finish on top than try to stretch a joke too far. Even though the topicality of the show was popular at the time, I don't think it set a trend with the British in reality.

Self-sufficiency was good & funny providing someone else did it, but for the majority of the population it was just too damned hard to even contemplate. ****/***** from United States 2 March 2004 When I heard of Good Neighbors, I didn't think much of it. Then when they began airing it after Waiting for God on WLIW Long Island last year. I became enchanted by a star cast, Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Penelope Keith, and the late Paul Eddington. Paul, Richard, and Felicity have been honoured with a C.B.E.(Commander of the British Empire). Richard and Penelope also received the O.B.E.(Officer of the British Empire) and now have C.B.E.'s as well. It's so amusing to watch these four talented actors at work. Richard and Felicity's roles as Tom and Barbara Good are wnderfully portrayed with such charm. Felicity has such a wonderful musing face to watch on screen. You can't take your eyes off her. No wonder Richard Briers is one of Kenneth Branagh's favorite actors. He is simply likable.

Paul and Penelope's Margot play their neighbors who prefer offices and modern technology to Tom and Barbara's new lifestyle of pigs and crops. You wouldn't know it if you knew that Penelope actually is an avid gardener herself and lives in Surrey from her performance as the socialite, Margot Ledbetter. Good Neighbours actually had a command performance for the Royal Family who were big fans of the show. No wonder, it's a great show. Was the above review useful to you? 12 out of 13 people found the following review useful: best sitcom ever ! from Dallas, Texas 5 July 2006 This was my favorite BBC sitcom. Even though there was only 30 episodes, it ranks as my favorite among all comedies. I was so fortunate to have had access to public television growing up. Channel 13 in Dallas, Texas was the first public TV station to air "Monty Python's Flying Circus" in the U. S. (Three cheers to Eric Idle). It was the "Good Neighbors" series that got me started in collecting and recording TV shows onto VHS tapes. One can not help but fall in love with the characters on this show.

Tom and Barbara Good are the main characters who decide to live a life of total self-efficiency in the suburbs of London. It is their next door neighbors, Margo and Jerry Ledbetter, that bring in most of the laughs. They remain best of friends with the Good's even though their lifestyles become totally different. I highly recommend this excellent British comedy. Everyone has a favorite and this show is mine. My favorite American TV sitcom is "The Bob Newhart Show". These two shows have nothing in common except that they make you laugh. Was the above review useful to you? 11 out of 13 people found the following review useful: Classic, everlasting comedy. from Australia 20 February 2007 The idea of people being self sufficient was talked about quite a bit in the 70's and there were people who really did it like the Goods. The reason in the show the Goods could afford to live in their house is that they owned it and didn't have to pay rent. If you think, even in the show, the life they led was easy, you obviously haven't watched much of it at all because it was anything but.

The Goods ran into problems in just about EVERY episode, but the point was doing it for different reasons ~ a challenge, to feel alive, back to basics, to not have to answer to any body...etc. They were down-to-earth, happy, smart and had a sense of humor. In those ways I find the show really inspiring and intelligent. As for the comedy, the characters once again provide this with their amazing dynamic. Managing to get four of Britain's best comedic actors at the time together in one show was perfect. Tom with his cheeky boyish wit, strength and determination. Barbara with her logical intelligence, resourcefulness and feisty charm. Jerry with his cheeky chuckle, free spirited but at times stern nature and his protectiveness towards Tom and Barbara. Margo with her incessant need for a good social standing, strong sense of friendship and almost innocent nature when it comes to certain things like sex. These character were more than just one dimensional faceless general characters. They all had different sides to them. Margo acted differently with Barbara than she would with Tom and at times her and Jerry, although having their problems did seem very much in love and one could very much see why they were together.

Tom and Barbara's relationship was very much equal, with Barbara getting just as much say in what the couple did as Tom. Tom was sweet and lovable and funny and Barbara was cute and supportive. The four of them went together very well and made a dynamic that wasn't necessarily hilarious, but it was interesting, intelligent and made me giggle. Not only that but the show is full of double entendres and innuendo! Everything from tame bondage to wife swapping is eluded to through the series!! Hahaha. I'm realize that comedy, more than anything, is subjective but you really should look at this show closer. Was the above review useful to you? 7 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Absurdist British comedy - not to be missed (nor sniffed at, Margot would say...) from Palm Springs, California, USA 20 March 2000 *** This review may contain spoilers *** One of the BBC's most endearing sitcoms from the 70's. Great fun all round, but most of all (my personal favorite, anyway), the Christmas episode entitled "Silly, But It's Fun".

This has become a perennial "must-see" during the holiday season in our household, right up there with the Alastair Sim version of "A Christmas Carol". Worth seeing if only for the look of horror on Margot's face when she finds that her Christmas cracker "hat" is an issue of "The Daily Mirror".....or her blank look of non-understanding upon reading her motto, (I hope this isn't a spoiler) "The ooh-aah bird is so called because it lays square eggs". Cheers, all! Was the above review useful to you? 10 out of 13 people found the following review useful: The Sexy Dungaree And Wellington Boot Show from Derby, UK 27 May 2005 I've always liked this BBC sitcom from the '70's, it was never uproariously funny in the same way as its channel contemporary Fawlty Towers was, but it was always pleasantly funny and always delivered. It was a genuine attempt to extract humour from a serious human decision, that of quitting the rat race and becoming self-sufficient in Surbiton.

How the Good's managed it was the subject of about 30 half hour episodes, with a definite tapering off in story quality towards the end. They'd all proved their point: it could be seen to be possible and successful and once achieved could only repeat like the seasons of the year. "Plough your own furrow" broadcast 4.4.75: This is where 40 year old Tom, with Barbara's considered support quits his job and they become self-sufficient. To celebrate their decision they dance around the goldfish pond at 3 in the morning much to their next door neighbours Jerry & Margot's disgust. Tom, Jerry and Margot were all splendidly portrayed by Briers, Eddington and Keith, but as has been repeatedly pointed out in previous comments, it was Felicity Kendal who brought something extra to the shows. She provided a downbeat and downplayed realistic attitude that was at the time and still is completely beguiling and refreshing to watch. Those who couldn't get into it sure missed something! Sitcom was perhaps rather beneath her talents, and I always thought of Briers as a farceur, but they gelled together well in their opposition to the world.

8/10 Learn and talk about The Good Life (1975 TV series), 1970s British television series, 1975 British television programme debuts, 1978 British television programme endings, BBC television sitcoms Life Beyond the Box The Good Life is a British sitcom , produced by BBC television . [1] It ran from 1975 to 1978 and was written by Bob Larbey and John Esmonde . Opening with the midlife crisis faced by Tom Good, a 40-year-old London plastics designer, it relates the joys and miseries he and his wife Barbara experience when they attempt to escape modern commercial living by "becoming totally self-sufficient" in their home in Surbiton . In 2004, it came 9th in Britain's Best Sitcom . [2] In the United States, it aired on various PBS stations under the title Good Neighbors. [3] Contents Background[ edit ] The Good Life was written by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey for Richard Briers , [4] the only cast member with a previously established high-profile.

Larbey and Esmonde were inspired by Larbey attaining his 40th birthday, which seemed to them a milestone in most people's lives. [4] Their storyline has the Goods' decision to pursue self-sufficiency conflicting sharply with the habits of the Leadbetters, who live next door. The conflict between neighbours balanced with an increasingly close friendship creates comic tension as that friendship is tried to its limits. Peter Bowles was originally cast to play the role of Jerry, but was unavailable. [4] He later starred opposite Penelope Keith in To the Manor Born . Hannah Gordon was considered for the role of Barbara but ruled out, having recently played a similar role in the BBC sitcom My Wife Next Door . Esmonde and Larbey chose Felicity Kendal and Penelope Keith after seeing them on stage together in The Norman Conquests . The location filming was in the North London suburb of Northwood , although the series was set in Surbiton , southwest London. The producers searched extensively for a suitable pair of houses, eventually chancing on Kewferry Road, Northwood (Google street view [1] , the Leadbetters' house to the left).

[5] The grounds of the Goods' house were returned to their original state after the filming of each series' inserts and all livestock removed at the end of each day's filming. Plot[ edit ] On his 40th birthday, Tom Good is no longer able to take his job seriously and gives up work as a draughtsman for a company that makes plastic toys for breakfast cereal packets. Their house is paid for so he and his wife Barbara adopt a sustainable , simple and self-sufficient lifestyle while staying in their home in The Avenue, Surbiton . They turn their front and back gardens into allotments , growing soft fruit and vegetables. They introduce chickens, pigs ( Pinky and Perky ), a goat (Geraldine) and a cockerel ( Lenin ). They generate their own electricity, using methane from animal waste, and attempt to make their own clothes. They sell or barter surplus crops for essentials they cannot make themselves. They cut their monetary requirements to the minimum with varying success. Their actions horrify their kindly but conventional neighbours, Margo and Jerry Leadbetter. Margo and Jerry were intended to be minor characters, but their relationship with one another and the Goods became an essential element.

Under the influence of the Goods' homemade wine, called " peapod burgundy " (the strength of which becomes a running joke), their intermingled attractions for one another become apparent. Both couples are childless. Tom Good[ edit ] Tom's career has been as a draughtsman, a job he thoroughly dislikes. He feels his life is meaningless, nothing more than work and consumption. Becoming self-sufficient is his idea, but Barbara, after expressing concerns, supports him. Tom is determined to succeed at self-sufficiency, and is mostly cheerful about his new lifestyle. Tom is obstinate and pigheaded, often to Barbara's detriment or irritation. On the few occasions that he is pessimistic, Barbara becomes the optimist. Barbara Good[ edit ] Barbara is a normal, middle-class housewife when the series begins. While she sometimes wilts under Tom's determined and dominant nature, her sharp tongue puts her on an equal footing. She is the heart of the enterprise, while Tom's engineering brain designs and builds what they need. She yearns for luxuries but her own determination to succeed, with Tom's single-minded persuasion, keeps her going.

Jerry Leadbetter[ edit ] Jerry works for JJM, having joined on the same day as Tom. Through cunning and self-promotion rather than talent, he has risen to senior management. He tells Tom he has only 10% of Tom's talent. As the series progresses, he moves within striking distance of the managing director's job. He is convinced that the go-it-alone attempt would fail and on several occasions pleads with Tom to come back. However, he grows to appreciate the character it has taken for Tom to leave the system. He is henpecked at home but has the strength to make his case. Margo Leadbetter[ edit ] Margo cannot understand her neighbours' lifestyle, but their friendship is important to her. As a child, Margo Sturgess, she was bullied at school for having no sense of humour. A social climber, staunchly Conservative and unafraid to challenge anyone who gets on her nerves, Margo nevertheless reveals herself to have a heart of gold. She involves herself with organisations such as the Pony Club and the Music Society, always wishing to play the lead role. Margo is occasionally made aware of her faults by others, including her husband, and is not too proud to apologise.

Andrew and Felicity[ edit ] Andrew, "Andy" or "Sir", is managing director of JJM. He feigns ignorance of Tom's existence ("Mr Ummm of the Fourth Floor"), but once Tom leaves, Andy becomes desperate to bring Tom back. His wife, Felicity, is more relaxed. She is one of the few characters to support Tom and Barbara and believes trying to be self-sufficient is exciting. She says, "I wanted to do something exciting when I was young, and then I met Andrew and that was the end of that." They have one son, unseen, called Martin. Andrew calls Tom and Barbara "Tim and Fatima", making out he did not remember their names. However, in the episode "Anniversary", he admits he has always known their names but pretends to forget — "an old executive ploy to put people at a disadvantage." Andrew appears alone after series 1 with no further references to Felicity. Unseen characters[ edit ] Several characters are mentioned but unseen. Margo is at odds with Miss Dollie Mountshaft, dictatorial leading light of the Music Society. The overweight Mrs Dooms-Paterson is an equally dictatorial acquaintance and a fellow member of the Pony Club.

Mr and Mrs. Pearson, the Leadbetters' gardener and housekeeper, are mentioned in several episodes. Main article: List of The Good Life episodes The Good Life aired for four series and two specials from 4 April 1975 to 10 June 1978. The final one-off episode, "When I'm Sixty-Five", was a Royal Command Performance in front of The Queen , The Duke of Edinburgh and senior BBC management. The cast and crew were presented to The Queen and Prince Philip after the recording. The episode was originally broadcast in a 45-minute slot with footage either side of the 30-minute episode showing the Royal Party entering and exiting. Novelisations[ edit ] Two novelisations of The Good Life were written, both by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey. The first, simply entitled The Good Life was published in 1976 by Penguin Books , and this novelised the first series. The second book, titled More of The Good Life, was published in 1977 also by Penguin, and featured three episodes from series two and four episodes from series three.

Other countries[ edit ] In the United States The Good Life was retitled Good Neighbors, to avoid confusion with a short-lived American sitcom of the same name, and was shown by most PBS stations across the country starting in the early 1980s. By the late 1980s, it was rarely seen but returned to PBS stations after the release of select episodes on VHS by CBS/Fox Video in 1998. [4] The series also aired in Australia on ABCTV and in Canada on CBC under its original name. The series was also seen in South Africa, Rhodesia, New Zealand and many other Commonwealth countries as well as Belgium [6] and the Netherlands. [7] After The Good Life[ edit ] After the success of The Good Life, the three cast members who were little known beforehand were given their own "vehicles" commissioned by the then Head of Comedy and producer of The Good Life, John Howard Davies . [4] Penelope Keith starred alongside Peter Bowles in To the Manor Born , which broadcast a year after The Good Life ended. Paul Eddington joined Nigel Hawthorne and Derek Fowlds in Yes Minister and its sequel Yes Prime Minister .

Felicity Kendal, who had become something of a sex symbol with her tomboy character, complete with wellington boots , went on to join Elspet Gray in Solo , and Jane Asher in The Mistress . Richard Briers later starred alongside Penelope Wilton and Peter Egan in the popular sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles . In 1992, Felicity Kendal and Paul Eddington reunited in the Channel Four adaptation of Mary Wesley 's The Camomile Lawn . In 2003, the BBC broadcast a mockumentary entitled Life Beyond the Box: Margo Leadbetter , describing Margo's life since the series had finished, although the original actors appear only in archive footage. In 2007, Briers and Kendal were reunited on ITV1 series That's What I Call Television in a mock-up of the Goods' kitchen.

In popular culture[ edit ] The Good Life features in an episode of The Young Ones titled " Sick " where Vyvyan (played by Adrian Edmondson ) rips apart the title page after the first ten seconds of the opening credits of this show while criticising it as being too "bloody nice" and the actors being "nothing but a couple of reactionary stereotypes confirming the myth that everyone in Britain is a lovable middle-class eccentric!" The growth of the hobby farm concept has by some been connected to the success of TV shows like The Good Life. [8] Home video releases[ edit ] The complete series of The Good Life is available in the US ( Region 1 ) under the title Good Neighbors. Series 1 – 3 were released as a box set in 2005; Series 4 was released in 2006 and includes the Royal Command Performance. The first UK ( Region 2 ) DVD release omits two episodes (the first episode from series 1 and one from series 3).

[2] , All four complete series have been re-released in their entirety on 29 March, 24 May, 19 July and 20 September 2010, the complete boxset has also been re-released. All four series have been released in their entirety in Australia ( Region 4 ), albeit in NTSC format rather than the PAL format typical in Australia. The series 4 release (on two DVDs) also contains an interview with Richard Briers as well as the Royal Command Performance episode. Original courtesy of Wikipedia: — Please support Wikipedia. This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia . A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia. We're sorry, but there's no news about "The Good Life (1975 TV series)" right now. Limit to books that you can completely read online Include partial books (book previews) Oops, we seem to be having trouble contacting Twitter Support Wikipedia A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia. Please add your support for Wikipedia! Searchlight Group Digplanet also receives support from Searchlight Group. Visit Searchlight Copyright © 2009-2016 Digparty. All rights reserved.

The Good Life - how a 70s sitcom became a Tory lodestar | Coffee House Email Hearing David Cameron’s many references to the ‘good life’ may puzzle younger voters who did not grow up with Richard Briers and Penelope Keith’s sitcom of the same name. The Prime Minister has a fond memory of popular culture of the 1970s: he recently announced his decision not to stand for a third term by quoting a Shreddies advert from the late 1970s (about three being two many) and says the only song he knows by heart is Benny Hill’s 1971 hit ‘Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)’. So we ought not to be surprised about is talking about The Good Life, which ran from 1975 to 1978. When the writers John Esmonde and Bob Larbey came up with the idea for The Good Life, they were looking for a vehicle for Briers, who’d just turned 40. He was well established but not quite famous — the other three actors even less so. Felicity Kendal and Penelope Keith were cast on the strength of their performances in an Ayckbourn play.

Paul Eddington was a ‘first eleven light-comedy actor’ (as Briers put it) but he was hardly a household name. In the opening credits, Briers’s name was above the title, the other three were below it. Briers’s Tom Good was the lead; Kendal was ensured a decent role as his wife, Barbara, but Jerry and Margo Leadbetter were initially conceived as supporting characters. However, Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith were so good that after the first few episodes, Briers implored Esmonde and Larbey to write them up. The two writers needed no prompting. The Good Life became a quartet — a comedy of manners with a surprising political subtext. The Good Life was supposed to be about suburban self-sufficiency, but the series soon became a mirror for the fears and aspirations of the age. When the first episode went out, in April 1975, Margaret Thatcher had just become Tory leader and as Penelope Keith’s Margo emerged as a comic counterweight to Richard Briers’s Tom, her character began to sound uncannily like Mrs T. ‘I am not a citizen, I am a resident,’ she declared.

‘I am the silent majority.’ It could (and probably should) have been a Conservative rallying cry. This was an entirely unconscious process (The Good Life was never sullied by overt satire), but as a house-proud Boudicea who wasn’t scared to speak her mind or knock her neighbours’ heads together, Margo was both heroic and ridiculous — Mrs T writ small. ‘I’m not a complete woman,’ Margo tells Tom. ‘I haven’t got a sense of humour.’ A harridan with a heart of gold, she voiced our growing frustration with ineptitude and apathy (‘There was a time in this country when a date promised was a date honoured,’ she told tardy tradesmen), which would eventually sweep her parliamentary doppelganger into Downing Street. Determined to ‘oust the present rabble’, Margo was a Home Counties Conservative to her fingertips — the series was set in Surbiton and filmed in true blue Northwood. She tried to keep her temper (‘We leave personal insults to the socialists’), but she could put up a fight when she had to. Urbane but ineffectual, her husband Jerry was the archetypal Tory wet.

With their muddy dungarees and baggy jumpers, and their self-inflicted bourgeois poverty, Tom and Barbara Good looked like Chablis socialists, or Liberals at least (in his younger years, Richard Briers bore an uncanny resemblance to Nick Clegg). Yet in their own muddled way, Tom and Barbara also anticipated the Thatcherite revolution. Tom leaves a steady job to be his own boss and start his own business (albeit an extremely inefficient one). They’re happy to scrounge off the Leadbetters, but they have no expectation that the state ought to provide. With his secure career in a vast conglomerate, Jerry is the real dinosaur. As Bob Larbey said a few years ago, ‘It was about a revolution— just one without violence or shouting.’ From 1975 to 1978, The Good Life’s audience grew from 5 million to an average of over 16 million, peaking at 21 million for the 1977 Christmas special (viewing figures virtually unheard of today). It didn’t outstay its welcome, they only made three series. By the time Margo Thatcher became PM, The Good Life was long gone.

Not surprisingly, for a TV show that was both conservative and extremely popular, it became a natural target for the middle-class militants of the alternative comedy movement. ‘They’re nothing but a couple of reactionary stereotypes, confirming the myth that everyone in Britain is a lovable middle-class eccentric,’ raged Vyvyan in The Young Ones (a plastic punk played with suitable self-righteousness by Adrian Edmondson). To be fair, there was a distinct element of self-parody in this diatribe, but Edmondson spoke for millions of adolescent anarchists — and I should know, I was one of them. Tellingly, Vyvyan’s fiercest critique is directed not at the show’s prophetic Thatcherism, but its innate philanthropy. ‘I hate it,’ he ranted, splenetically. ‘It’s so bloody nice.’ It’s that niceness which made The Good Life the comedic Aunt Sally of the 1980s (you wouldn’t be seen dead watching it during the Thatcher years — not in my university hall of residence, at least), yet it’s that same unaffected warmth which makes it so watchable today. The Young Ones, so of its time, now feels terribly dated.

Conversely, as Bob Larbey observed, the only thing in The Good Life that’s dated is Paul Eddington’s trousers. I came round to The Good Life in the end (it’s called growing up) and so did a few million po-faced students like me. My wife watched it on DVD through both her pregnancies. It kept her sane and happy. Maybe we should have called our children Tom and Barbara (or maybe Margo and Jerry). It’s usually a bad idea to meet your heroes, but I actually met all the cast, one way or another, and they were all as amiable as you’d suppose. Penelope Keith provided a lovely interview for a BBC documentary I was working on. Paul Eddington gave me a long interview at his home in London’s Docklands, even though he was gravely ill and had to answer my questions lying down. And I opened a door at the Hurlingham Club, came face to face with Felicity Kendal, and was far too star-struck to say anything — this one doesn’t really count, I know, but for me it was the most thrilling encounter of them all.

I met Bob Larbey too (happily still with us; John Esmonde sadly passed away a few years ago) and his essential decency shone through. I met Richard Briers twice and he was charming, but also far brighter than you might imagine. The second time was over high tea at a friend’s home in Chiswick, but it was our first meeting which really lingers in my memory. I’d just started out as a journalist, and had been sent to interview Briers in Norwich, where he was playing King Lear for Kenneth Branagh. I was late, he was late — he only had half an hour, I had a big space to fill — it wasn’t nearly enough time. I was a bag of nerves but he was a total pro, putting me at my ease (even though he was due onstage as Lear in an hour or so) and rattling off his answers like the star guest on a chat show. I came away with more than enough — anecdote after anecdote, funny, clever and insightful.

He may have made a cracking Lear, but The Good Life — the show which foresaw the rise of slow food, self-employment and Mrs Thatcher — is the most fitting monument to this unassuming yet gifted man. <br> Subscribe to The Spectator today for a quality of argument not found in any other publication. Get more Spectator for less – just £12 for 12 issues .

Question: Tom, Barbara, Jerry and Margo are all characters in which 1970’s UK television sitcom?
Answer: The Good Life